Saint José de Anchieta
Jesuit who wrote a Tupi grammar and helped found the settlement of São Paulo
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Priest, Missionary
- Life
- 1534 – 1597
- Era
- 16th century
- Feast
- 9 June
- Countries
- Spain, Brazil
Life story
Joseph of Anchieta was born on 19 March 1534 at San Cristobal de La Laguna on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. At 14 he went to study at the Royal College of Arts in Coimbra, Portugal, and was admitted to the Jesuits on 1 May 1551, aged 17.
In 1553 he was sent to the Portuguese colony in Brazil. On 25 January 1554 the Jesuits celebrated their first Mass at the site of what became Sao Paulo, now marked as the city's founding. He wrote a grammar of the Tupi language, which circulated in manuscript from the 1550s and was printed in Coimbra in 1595.
He helped lead peace talks with the Tamoyo at Iperoig in the 1560s. Tradition says he composed a poem to Mary during his captivity there in 1563. He is also credited with helping found Rio de Janeiro in 1565. In 1577 he was appointed provincial superior of the Jesuits in Brazil.
He died on 9 June 1597 at Reritiba in Espirito Santo, now the city of Anchieta. Pope John Paul II beatified him on 22 June 1980, and Pope Francis canonized him by equivalent procedure on 3 April 2014.
Works and witness
- Entered the Jesuits on 1 May 1551
- Arrived in Brazil in 1553; first Mass at the site of Sao Paulo on 25 January 1554
- Wrote a Tupi grammar (printed in Coimbra, 1595)
- Provincial of the Jesuits in Brazil from 1577
Saints from the same country
References
- Museu da Língua Portuguesa, "Arte de Gramática da Língua mais usada na costa do Brasil" (1595)
- Agência Brasil, "Father José de Anchieta, founder of São Paulo, is canonized" (April 2014)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.